Aikido - A Brief History - Part #1

Aikido - A Brief History - Part #1

Excerpt from : "The Elements of Aikido" by Greg O'Connor

"The secret of Aikido is to harmonize with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself. He who has gained the secret of Aikido has the universe in himself and can say 'I am the universe'." - Morihei Ueshiba

Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba, a renowned Japanese martial arts master, as a way of combining his formidable martial capabilities with his deep spiritual pursuits. Master Ueshiba was born in the small fishing village of Tanabe on the eastern coast of Japan in 1883. As a young boy he witnessed his father being roughed up by local hoodlums and he was powerless to come to his aid. Even though he was a small and sickly child, this experience added to his resolve that he would develop himself to become strong in both body and spirit. He began to study many martial arts including jujitsu, kenjitsu, jojitsu, sojutsu and sumo, as well as various other sword and staff arts. As years passed he became nationally known for his extraordinary abilities as a martial arts master. His art took many names over the early years of its development, among which were Aiki-budo and Ueshiba Ryu-Aikijujitsu.

Morihei was of small stature, even for a typical Japanese, standing just under 5 ft tall. He trained himself so relentlessly and thoroughly, though, that he became physically very imposing and extremely strong. His feats of strength became quite remarkable and well known. For example, there are accounts where he was able to move stones so large that four or five people together could not move the same stone. He also sought to forge and strengthen his spirit, and made a life-time study of the martial arts. To this day stories of his superhuman feats and almost magical powers abound. Although he was to gain a reputation for being virtually unbeatable, hewas, at the same time, profoundly troubled with the conflict that arose between his martial skills and his spiritual pursuits.

All his life, the founder was a deeply spiritual man on a deeply spiritual search. Like the majority of Japanese he was exposed to zen, Buddhism and Shinto beliefs. Shinto is a religion native to Japan and practised by most Japanese, and is also a belief system that does not negate other beliefs. Many Japanese, for instance, practice both Buddhism and Shintoism. Thus when Morihei encountered a religion by the name of Omoto-Kyo he was able to embrace its beliefs fully, and then dedicate his life to its practice.

Omoto-Kyu was founded by Nao Deguchi, a humble peasant woman, who was, reportedly, a healer and who had a gift of clairvoyance. Meeting Onisaburo Deguchi, the then current leader of Omoto-Kyo, had a profound effect on Morihei. It was Onisaburo Deguchi who told Morihei that, because of his extraordinary abilities, he should open a dojo and teach his martial art. This he did and dedicated himself to his calling, that of pursuing and combining his spiritual and martial paths.

One of the basic principles of Omoto-Kyo was the aspect of kotodama, the belief of sound being the creative force of the universe. The kotodama range of octaves, from deep to high pitch tones, could be arranged as such in chants that one could vocalize. Then, with the various vibrations generated, one could, ideally, energize the body, mind and spirit and connect it all to the entire cosmos. Morihei therefore incorporated the sounds of kotodama into his own life, practice and purification rituals. This, according to his words, was what connected him to God.

As time went on and Morihei Ueshiba's martial abilities became quite well known he was regularly confronted by other accomplished martial artists seeking to better him. He would always easily defeat these challengers, and as years passed he became weary of them, finding no satisfaction or joy in repeatedly defeating them. One such encounter with yet another insistent challenger would bring about a profound life change for Ueshiba.

The challenger, in this case, was a naval officer. Reluctantly, Morihei accepted his challenge and invited the naval officer to strike him, using a wooden sword. Morihei easily avoided the repeated attempts to hit him, and when the challenger finally grew frustrated, tired and spent, Morihei left him and entered a nearby garden. While there he had what he described as an experience of enlightenment where he was bathed in a golden light. He said it was at that moment that the realization that 'I am the universe' came into him; it was then that the true meaning of budo, the martial way, was revealed to him. The revelation was that true budo was for the love and protection of all things. This brought him to the realization and solidification of his life purpose and revealed to him the path to combine his spiritual awareness with his martial method. This wisdom contributed to the further evolution of his art which would become Aikido; we may even go so far as to say that this was the true birth of Aikido. He knew then that winning at someone else's expense was not really winning, and that the only true victory was the victory over the conflict within ourselves. This discord is the greatest adversary in our lives. The highest skill levels that can be achieved are needed to attain this victory. This, indeed, is 'fighting the good fight' on the most difficult battlefield.

It was some time after he had this experience that his art came to be known as Aikido. Aikido, economically translated, means the way to love and harmony with the spirit of all things. When broken down more literally ai can be translated as 'love/harmony', ki is 'spirit/life force' and do means 'way of' or 'path'.

Because of the awe and reverence they felt for Master Ueshiba, his students began referring to him respectfully as O Sensei, which means 'Great Teacher'. This is how he is referred to today by Aikido practitioners all over the world.

<Continued - Part #2>